Bitten By Love

Twenty-One

Third POV

"Here," Uruha said, handing Akiko a mug of hot chocolate. "Kai made this for you. He and the others send their best wishes."

"Thank you," Akiko said.

They were sitting on chairs in Uruha's balcony. It was shortly after sunset, and Akiko said she needed some fresh air.

She sipped it cautiously. "It's really good. It's better than mine!"

"Kai was hoping to exchange recipies with you when you arrived."

"I'd love to!" Akiko said warmly. Her newly-red eyes shone with excitement.

"Not until you get your energy back, my love."

Akiko blushed. For a while now, Uruha had started calling her affectionate names like "love", "sweetheart", and "princess". She wouldn't deny she liked it, but she was still shy.

"Drink up," Uruha said gently. "After that, I'll introduce you to the others."

*  *  *  *

Somewhere around midnight, Akiko started feeling much better, and so, Uruha helped her change clothes, picked her up bridal style and carried her downstairs, where everyone else was making a racket.

"Jeez, Reita! You're cheating again!!" Ruki yelled.

"How the hell do you cheat in this game?" Reita yelled back.

"Oi, Aoi! It's your turn to help me with the cooking!" Kai called from the kitchen.

"Noooooo! I like eating food, not cooking it," Aoi whined.

"Guys," Uruha called out, setting Akiko down on the couch.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to face Uruha.

"Everyone, this is Akiko."

"N-nice to m-meet you," Akiko said nervously.

All of a sudden, the rowdy band members had become gentlemen, something that amused and scared Uruha at the same time. All of them introduced themselves politely, and had small conversations with Akiko.

Akiko was still very shy, but she slowly warmed up to them. She liked talking to them, but after a little while, everyone dashed into the kitchen because they were hungry, and there was no food.

That left Uruha alone with Akiko in the living room. "Are you hungry?" He asked her.

"Not really." She put a hand to her stomach. "The cuts here make it difficult to eat, for some reason."

Uruha nodded. "I suppose you'll have to stick to soup for a while."

He picked her up again and held her against him. Ever since he'd seen her tortured and close to death, he felt better when being with her. That way, he was reassured that he hadn't lost her.

*  *  *  *

Akiko spent the night watching everyone mess around and jam on their instruments. At one point, they were so immersed in their music that nobody could hear themselves think. She mostly spent her time reading a few books Uruha had found for her.

When they took a snack break, Akiko realized something. "Uruha, where's my suitcase?" she asked.

"In my room," he answered. "Do you need anything?"

"I brought Christmas gifts for everyone!" She said excitedly.

At the very mention of "gifts", Ruki and Aoi dashed to Uruha's room, and came back bearing Akiko's suitcase as though it were a precious object.

"Oi, who said you could just barge into my room like that?" Uruha raised an eyebrow, but he was grinning.

Akiko slowly pulled out the gifts she'd brought for everyone. The gift from Clara almost got pulled out in the confusion, but Akiko hid it before anyone could notice, blushing.

The gift exchange passed without too much trouble. Everyone had got small presents for Akiko...except Uruha.

"Uruha? Aren't you going to give Akiko anything?" Reita asked.

"Shh, it's a surprise," Uruha said quietly. He wanted to give her his present when both of them were alone.

Akiko had similar plans as well. She wanted to give Uruha her present when it was just the two of them.

And so, they finally shook the others off by dawn, leaving the two of them in the living room again.

"I got you a present too," Akiko assured Uruha. "Don't think I'd forget."

"Likewise."

He opened the package from Akiko to reveal a guitar pendant on a chain. Akiko had instantly known he would love it the moment she set eyes on it.

"It's beautiful! I'm going to wear it right away!"

As he struggled to put the chain on, Akiko moved closer to him to help.

She reached for the hook, and as she fixed it, she saw the fang marks on his neck. She'd marked him too.